The Stone store

One part of the study collection is housed in the new Stone Store in the basement of the King Edward Building. This is a specially conditioned store for porous stone in the Museum, which allows the collection of sculpture, reliefs and stone vessels to be more easily accessible to visitors (by appointment).

The material ranges in size from very small pieces to fragments of colossal statues weighing several tons. The collection ranges in date from 10 000 BC to the twelfth century AD. The store is arranged in chronological order in two sequences, one for stelae and reliefs, and the other for sculpture in the round.

Planning for a new stone store was already underway then the Great Court Millennium Project started. This project provided the major impetus for the installation of the store and now the vast majority of the stone collection is together for the first time.